Based on the state-of-the-art there are already containers of this sort, in particular shopping baskets are known, which can be drawn by the user behind them by means of a pull handle.
For example, a rollable shopping basket is known from ES 2 352 776 B1, on which a U-shaped pull handle on each of the guide tunnels on the edges is built onto the shopping basket and is fitted on it to be extendable.
In addition, from EP 1 834 539 A1 a rollable shopping baskets, which can be pulled, is known, on which a U-shaped handle with two bars is built on the lateral wall of the shopping basket and is fitted to be extendable.
A rollable shopping basket is known from FR 2 906 212 B1, which has a pull handle with a telescopic, multi-part guide rail, which is also received and mounted in a guide section of the shopping basket.
EP 2 167 366 B1 shows a rollable shopping basket, to which a foldable pull handle is fastened on the upper edge of the lateral wall, which defines the opening of the inner section. This pull handle can be swiveled from a rest position to a pulling position, whereby in the pulling position, the pull handle projects from the shopping basket.
A further rollable shopping basket is known from WO 2014/118414 A1, which has an attachable, U-shaped pull handle.
It is the object of the present invention, to develop a container of the aforementioned type in a favorable manner, in particular to ensure that the assembly of the pull handle onto the container is simplified, to avoid the possibility of a multi-part handle and to be able to avoid subsequent installation steps. In addition, the aim is to lower investment costs and reduce manufacturing costs.
This object is achieved in accordance with the present invention. According to that, a container provision is made so that a base and a peripheral lateral wall which adjoins the base delimit an inner region of the container, where the container is rollable, and further has a pull handle with a guide rail and a handle and whereby in a region of the lateral wall a guide tunnel is provided for guiding and at least partially receiving the guide rail of the pull handle and whereby the guide rail has at least one latching element, which protrudes from an outer surface of the guide rail and in the assembled state of the pull handle prevents complete extraction of the guide rail from the guide tunnel.
The invention is based on the principle that a container such as a shopping basket or its assembly can be appropriately simplified where the guide rail only must be inserted into the guide tunnel during assembly and after insertion a complete removal of the guide rail can be prevented by the provision of at least one latching element. In particular, the guide tunnel or receiving tunnel on the container or shopping basket for the pull handle and the provision of at least one latching element can be constructed so that the assembly of the pull handle is made possible as a single item (one part or multi-part). The pull handle is pressed through by force through the guide tunnel or receiving tunnel on the basket during assembly and is secured after being fed through before removal or before extraction from the guide tunnel by latching with the latching element. So, for example, the convex, outer tunnel wall can temporarily deform when inserting the pull handle and, as soon as the latching element of the handle has passed down through the guide tunnel, this convex, outer tunnel wall springs back and thus permanently blocks the removal of the handle.
By doing so it will be possible, to optionally omit the multi-part structure of the handle and also to avoid subsequent installation steps. In particular, a lowering of investment costs and a reduction in production costs is possible.
It can be provided as a matter of course that the container is stackable.
Furthermore, it can be foreseen that the guide rail is designed in one piece. This simplifies the production of the guide rail.
It is also conceivable that the pull handle is designed in one piece. In this way assembly steps are eliminated relating to the installation of the pull handle and thus the production can also be simplified.
It is also fundamentally possible for the pull handle and guide rail to be separate components. This may be required, for example, if the pull handle is from experience exposed to large loads and as a result the pull handle should be replaced after a certain amount of service life. Easy interchangeability of the pull handle is in one such embodiment, in which the pull handle and guide rail are separate components. The individual parts of the pull handle can be glued, screwed, or clipped on.
For example, it is possible for the pull handle to consist of a separate handle, a guide profile and a latching component, which is passed through the guide tunnel and carries the latching element. The handle and/or the latching component can be designed as plastic parts. The guide rail can be, for example, a plastic part or even a metal component, for example made from an extruded aluminum profile.
It is also possible to make the pull handle from two half-shells and to join them, for example, using ultrasonic welding or laser welding.
In particular, it is conceivable that the container, base, lateral wall and guide rail and handle are designed in plastic.
Thus, the container or basket can be made from polypropylene (PP), in particular they can be formed from unreinforced polypropylene. It is also conceivable to use polyethylene (PE), in particular non-reinforced polyethylene.
The container can be formed as an injection-molded part.
The handle or the pull handle can be made from fiber-reinforced plastic. It is conceivable, for example, that a polyamide (PA) would be selected as the plastic, for example, PA6 or PA66. The fiber reinforcement can be made, for example, using glass fiber. It is particularly conceivable that glass fiber-reinforced PA6 would be used as the starting material. The handle or the pull handle can be designed as an injection-molded part.
The container is designed to be rollable, with two rollers being provided which, for example, can be arranged on the rear side in relation to the driving position of the container. The axle of the roller can be a metal axle. It is conceivable in this context that the axle is the only structural element made of metal on the container.
Furthermore, it is possible for the latching element to be designed as a single piece. As a result, the guide rail can be produced more easily and the corresponding installation steps can be saved.
Furthermore, provision can be made for the latching element to be wedge-shaped. In this context it is particularly conceivable for the latching element to be oriented such that the flattening of the wedge shape of the latching element is oriented in the direction of insertion of the guide rail of the pull handle, so that when inserting the pull handle into the guide tunnel, thanks to its wedge shape the latching element expands the guide tunnel and after the ingress of the latching element through the opening in the guide tunnel, the wall of the guide tunnel springs back again. As a result, the pull handle can no longer be pulled out of the guide tunnel due to the shape of the latching element, since the protruding part of the latching element prevents its removal from the guide tunnel, and the protruding part of the wedge-shaped latching element forms a type of stop or lug, which abuts against the wall of the guide tunnel and thereby prevents an extraction.
It can also be provided that the guide rail has two broad sides with a width which is twice as large as the depth of the guide rail. It is, for example, conceivable that the guide rail has a cross-section that is substantially in an oval or rectangular form. As a result, a comparatively favorable surface moment of inertia of the cross-section is achieved, whereby the guide rail is mechanically stable and also comparatively torsion-resistant and well protected against bending in the direction of the broad sides. Such a design also allows only a single guide rail to be provided, which still provides sufficient stability.
It can also be provided that the latching element is arranged on a broad side. This makes it possible for only a single latching element to be provided. In particular, it is also possible in this context that the latching element is arranged in such a way that the deformation force exerted by the latching element can be distributed comparatively uniformly into the walls of the guide tunnel when the pull handle is inserted into the guide tunnel. This makes a gentle insertion of the pull handle into the guide tunnel possible.
In addition, it is conceivable that at least one latching element is provided on the guide rail, by means of which the pull handle can be engaged in an extended position in the assembled state of the shopping basket. Due to the circumstance that the pull handle can be latched in an extended position in the mounted state of the shopping basket, it is possible to be able not only to pull the shopping basket, but also to push it. This can be of great advantage when maneuvering the shopping basket, especially if the user is within narrow passageways within a shop. By providing an extended position, in which the pull handle can be engaged, the unintentional pushing of the pull handle into the guide tunnel, thereby lowering it again into the guide tunnel, when pushing the container or shopping basket is prevented.
In particular, provision can be made for at least one latching element to be arranged in a spring-loaded manner. In particular, it can be provided that the latching element is arranged on a spring bar. As a result, it is easily possible to lower the pull handle from the latched extended position into the guide tunnel again, namely due to the fact that the spring resistance is overcome.
In particular, it is conceivable in this context that, spring bars are provided on a broad side of the guide rail, parallel to both edges, on each of which a latching element is arranged. Such a latching element can, for example, be wedge-shaped.
In principle, it is also conceivable for the latching element to be embodied in a wedge-shaped, knob-shaped, hemispherical or otherwise suitably shaped manner in any configuration, whether spring-loaded or not.
Furthermore, it can be provided that at least one further latching element is provided, which is arranged without a spring on the guide rail. It is particularly conceivable that the further unsprung latching element is arranged on the guide rail centrally on a broad side, in particular above the latching element. Due to the arrangement on the wide side, it is possible that, as a result of the shape of the latching element, a wall of the guide tunnel is pressed elastically outwards upon insertion of the guide rail in such a way that the pull handle can slide through the guide tunnel into the recessed position of the guide rail. In this context, it is particularly conceivable for the latching element to have two inclined faces which facilitate the extraction of the guide rail from the guide tunnel and the insertion of the guide rail into the guide tunnel.
In addition, it can be provided that the guide tunnel has at least one recess in which the latching element can be engaged. Thanks to this recess, a counterpart can be provided, into which the latching element can engage. As a result, reliable latching can be easily achieved.
It is also conceivable for the guide tunnel to have at least one molding, into which the latching element can be caught. Thanks to the stop on, for example, one edge of the molding, it can be easily achieved that, in the installed state of the pull handle, complete extraction of the guide rail from the guide tunnel can be or is prevented.
Furthermore, provision can be made for a further attachment to be provided, which can be threaded on the pull handle, by means of which an additional basket can be held in place. By means of the additional basket, a larger quantity of goods can be transported with the container where required, since further goods can be placed in the additional basket.
The attachment has, for example, two support arms on which the additional basket can be held. The attachment can be guided with an additional guide tunnel attachment onto the guide rail of the pull handle. In particular, it can be ensured that the guide rail is guided through the guide tunnel.
Furthermore, an attachment rail, which can be clipped onto the guide rail, can be provided, by means of which an additional basket can be held in place. As a result, it is simply possible to subsequently retrofit existing containers, so that the containers can be provided with additional baskets.
Further details and advantages of the invention will now be explained in more detail by means of a design example illustrated in the drawings.